This invention relates generally to thermal printing, and more specifically, it relates to a method and apparatus for high-speed, non-impact, thermal printing which provides sufficient resolution to produce specific styles of fonts such as E13B, by the American Bankers Association; OCR-A and OCR-B, by Accredited Standards Committe X3; and CMC7, by Companie des Machines Bull for example, and also for printing on plain paper or documents like checks.
One problem with many prior-art, thermal printers is that they do not provide sufficient definition or resolution of the character printed when compared to laser-xerographic or ink jet technologies.
Another problem with prior-art, thermal printers is that they generally employ specialized thermal paper which has a limited shelf life and is not the record medium of choice for a large number of applications.
Another problem with some prior-art thermal printers is that they employ a feed mechanism which feeds the record medium in a continuous manner past the recording head; this type of feed mechanism is not suitable for printing on record media like checks or deposit slips, for example, where intermittent feeding of the record media to be printed upon is encountered.
Another problem is that some prior-art, thermal printers are not compact and adaptable enough to be incorporated in an encode and sort machine, for example, which is used for printing (in specific styles or fonts, like E13B, for example) on financial documents like checks, for example.